Drew, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. When her mother died, she had nobody but her father, and he was on the road a lot, in the music business. She had no guidance during her formative teen years. When her father was around he indulged her every whim in an effort to make up for her mother's death and his absence. She got used to having her way. When she graduated, he saw it as an opportunity to spend more time with her and took her on the road. She learned as much about business as she could in order to be closer to her dad. This would explain why she is so immature in her self indulgence and yet a good businesswoman.

Danny is another story entirely. His family taught him to trust nothing and no one. If he did, it would only lead to disillusionment and heartache. The only ones he was allowed to trust were family. As I see it, he was the crown prince. The one upon whom all the hopes were pinned. The family was in the business because that was how they survived. He was going to help legitimize the family. That is why he was in college.

He is/was probably a grad student which is why he could go in at midsemester to monitor Michelle's class. That would put him around 23 or 24. Coming from an unusually extreme macho background, there's a good chance that since he was a teenager he knew mostly very experienced women. Also, he could see she had that same fierce sense of loyalty that was one of the cornerstones of his upbringing.

Because of her age, innocence and the circumstances which threw them together, Danny was willing to wait and hope . . . even to the point of sleeping on the floor and being led on, not once, but several times, which I don't think he would have tolerated from anyone else. Every time Michelle would give him a small sign that she was beginning to accept him, his hopes would grow and he would force himself to trust her more.

After the fiasco with his mother, he felt completely justified in placing his whole trust in Michelle and he opened himself entirely to her. At this point he does the unthinkable -- he declares his independence from the family. And it is at this point that Michelle thinks it is a good time to 'fess up. The timing could not have been worse. Danny could not have been more vulnerable.

Pepper